


The Dark Abyss of Hearts

by Fallencellist



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: After Emma is no longer the Dark One, Mending Relationships, Multi, au-ish, dark one - Freeform, suggested Mad Hatter and Rumplestiltskin in past
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-13
Updated: 2015-10-19
Packaged: 2018-04-26 03:53:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4989226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fallencellist/pseuds/Fallencellist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nobody escapes the darkness, not even the Dark One. After having the Dark One extracted from him, Mr. Gold feels powerless and empty, afraid of being the coward he once was, becoming desperate to regain his power after unfortunate events happen to the few people he cares deeply for. Something reminds him of a way to regain fractions of his power, but is it worth it: All magic comes with a price...<br/>(Based on after The Dark One is extracted from Emma, AU to events of season 5)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Golden Colored Hats

Shadows were all that he could see in the dim light of the small room, but it wasn’t unnerving for him, they were a comforting companion. Slivers of light streamed through the slightly open curtains in the occupied room. Within the confines of the walls and lazily lounging on the bed was a figure, still half wrapped up in the dark tinted sheets. His eyes were still half closed, narrowing them at the streams of light danced across the sheets, shining onto his face. It did seem late enough that he had gotten some substantial time killed. 

It had been awhile since he had a reason to rest, to even take time out of his busy schedule of making deals (and in the opinion of others, ruining lives) to pause a moment to recover. Magic was a wonderful thing to have, never having to worry about eating or sleeping as much as normal mortal man, along with having the power of course. Power was everything. 

Raising up the upper half of his body from the plush surface of the bed, a claw-like hand rubbed against his golden tinted face in an attempt to banish away the sleep that threatened to lull him back into its warm grasp. Though sleep was never really necessary for him, it was a nice time to wind down and reflect upon everything, as well as time to rehearse the plan he had plotting within the breeches of his mind, more of a meditative state than actual sleep. 

Despite all the deals on the side, he had to keep himself focused and on target. Nothing could distract him from his only goal. 

Convincing his body to finally move out of the comfort of the heavenly plush bed, the Dark One forced himself onto his feet, shifted himself from the barely touched room into the hallway, and dragged his still waking up body down the empty corridor. The already unkempt hair was much more messy than normal, some clumps of hair nearly sticking straight up, while bits of golden thread sneaking its way into the strands. Each step the bare feet touched upon as the Dark One descended down to the main floor of the elaborate Dark Castle, his mind continued to recite what had to be done for the day ahead, along with the other desperate and foolishly pitiful cries for help the mortals unknowingly called out for him to answer--at least he would get something out of the foolish cries for his help, from the deals he would make with them. It’s never something for nothing with the Dark One. 

Approaching the main hall, he lazily waved his hand, the doors opening up before him, sauntering into the large extravagant room he spent most of his time in. Within the back left corner of the rather expansive room was his favorite pastime tool: a spinning wheel, something that had stuck with him from the time he was a young boy, lost and abandoned, to even after he had become the feared Dark One all those years ago. 

Spinning was not only a way to create the gold he needed for his spells (though he could just conjure it up with magic), but a way to get lost in the circular motion of the wheels spinning round and round, helping him forget. Forget what, he would never remember at the end of it. At the moment though, spinning was not what he needed. 

Positioned in the middle of the room upon a brilliant red patterned rug was a long dark stained wooden table with a singular chair, expertly crafted with intricate carvings in the body, its back facing the large doors the man (if he could be called that anymore) had just entered through. His claw-like fingers ran across the top of this chair as he slowly passed by it, letting the dust fall off onto the ground and lightly gather on his fingers. 

“Getting dusty?” A voice called from the other side of the extravagant room, causing the amber eyes to flick up from his slightly dusted fingers. A glare was shot in the direction of the voice’s source, a sneer upon his golden glittering face, “What do you want?” The waved gray-brown hair draped over some of his face as he slightly turned his mug towards the newcomer to get a better look at him, framing his face around his cheekbones. 

Standing across the room in front of the large glass patched doors of a huge cabinet containing various trinkets and items with special value, was a man in a large black trenchcoat, and a large top hat donning his head, “You were the one who wanted me here.” 

“Oh,” The Dark One paused, letting out a heavy sigh, “Yes, yes. Forgot that I did it seems.” His clawed fingers dropped onto the table, focusing on the grooves of the dark table, his voice lowering to a mere whisper, “Must have slipped my mind.” A soft chuckle came from the man on the other side of the room, his top-hatted head shaking slightly side to side, “Seems a bit more than just that. Haven’t seen you without your boots or your vest in a long time.” 

Taking a second to take in what the hatter had said, the amber eyes focused down on his own body. Within the confines of his own castle he wore a high collared vest rather than his jacket, ribbed with a crocodile-skinned like lapels that was commonly worn outside of the walls: unlike the norm the Dark One only had a single long sleeved shirt with the frilled at the edges after snugly fitting around his wrists, the dark red tinted shirt with a scaled like pattern, glittering like the body of a goldfish darkened to a crimson red-orange, was the only thing covering his golden tinted chest. His normal dark leather pants wrapped tightly around his legs, the only thing missing was the tall thigh high laced boots: his legs were bare besides the leather pants, his skin exposing itself below his ankle, the smaller shaped feet breathing in the open air. It was slightly odd to the imp, seeing his own feet after so long of not seeing them, especially after the change. He had to wiggle the smaller toes just to remember about them, causing a bit of a chuckle from the hatter. 

Glancing back up to the visitor he let out an annoyed sigh, a puff of air escaping his throat, “The last time was an intrusion.” His voice danced with a hint of irritation, but he kept it simmered down deciding it was time to go back onto the subject rather than the fact he appeared to be a mess 

The man before him was known as Jefferson, also known as “The Mad Hatter” after his trip to Wonderland, ‘though a trip there would make anybody mad’, The Dark One would remind himself amusingly. This man was one of the few he could actually stand of this world, the other being his apprentice, Regina, only because she was the key to his victory and perhaps that ‘scientist’ that hailed from the realm known as The Land Without Color. There was another, but her beautiful ivory skin was something he longed to see again though would never been seen. 

Magic could transcend much, but not death. One reason why his apprentice was lucky she was the only one to be able to enact the curse, especially after her half-sister Zelina ran off with those slippers from Oz. It was her who delivered the news of the beauty’s death, but a small voice in the back of his head, something he hadn’t heard since before he became so corrupt by the dark power, told him that she was lying. Clearing his throat the Dark One focused back into the present, “Did you get what I wanted?” His voice rose with a slight glee, grinning to the Mad Hatter. With a roll of his eyes Jefferson opened up a small bag, “Do I ever disappoint you Dark One?” Reaching his hand into the dark purple velvet bag, the hatter pulled out a small sapphire orb, getting a snort of amusement from the imp-like man, along with a look from him, “Of course, besides that one time.” The corner of the hatter’s lips crooked down at the look, “But that time doesn’t count. I think we both say that was bad judgement on our part.” Another glare shot from the Dark One made him correct his words, “On my part,” with a hint of disappointment in his tone. 

“I thought we agreed never to talk about that again, dearie,” The Dark One raised his voice slightly, a flicker of amusement in his voice, getting a shrug in response from the hatter. With a quick stepping stride, he was over by the hatter, taking the sapphire orb in his hands, “Did you find any trace of the others?” A heavy sigh emanated from the hatter as he shook his head, “Couldn’t get much out of them--they barely let me get this thing before they tried to cut off my head,” Jefferson scowled slightly, “I already had my head taken off once before and I don’t want to deal with that again.” A small giggle came from the Dark One, holding up the sapphire orb to the light that poured into the room, “It’s an undignified death and even more so when you still live after losing your head.” 

“I have a love-hate relationship with magic,” Jefferson huffed, he arms crossed across his chest, “Would be much nicer if people didn’t use it to take off heads or other random things.” A shiver went through the hatter’s body as his mind remembered the events he had experienced in Wonderland. 

As the light began to pour onto the orb, brilliant blue colors refracted off of the surface of the orb, lighting parts of the room with a beautiful blue glow, “So,” Jefferson dragged on the word, his eyes focused up at the shimmering blue light, “It’s just for a light show?” 

“Idiot,” The Dark One hissed at the Mad Hatter, “Nothing is as it seems, remember dearie?” Grinning to himself like a happy young child with a puppy, he bobbed his head a bit to the sides, “It just looks like what you called ‘a light show’ for now. Once the other orbs are acquired, then they have a purpose.” After a few more seconds of admiring the colors (mostly on Jefferson’s part), the clawed fingers wrapped around the orb, banishing away the blue hues, “Now, back to my first question: did you find out where any of the other orbs could be?” 

“I got a bit of information about the green colored one and the purple one, but no luck on the red one,” Jefferson shrugged, brushing away the disappointment as the lights vanished, “You can come with me there for more information.” The first response the hatter got was an unamused look along with slight sneer, “I think I’ll pass. I’d rather not have to deal with another realm, especially ones with ancient old women who lock a kid up in a tower and use the child to keep young.” Rolling his amber eyes, the Dark One waved away Jefferson, “Take as much gold as you deem fit,” turning his back and began to walk towards the table settled in the middle of the room, placing the orb onto the wooden surface. 

“So you’re giving up on them?” Jefferson raised an eyebrow, taking a step towards the Dark One, as he took a few steps away, “Did you just send me on a wild goose chase for a single orb and you’re just going to give up because not all five of them are found?” The hatter gripped the velvet purple bag in his hand pressing the appendage against his chest, anger slightly rising in his body. Swiftly turning on a single foot, the amber eyes once again focused on the hatter, “You underestimate me dearie. I’m not ‘giving up’ on it. I know exactly where one of these are now, neyah!” He pointed a single clawed finger at the Hatter, “And you are coming as well. It’s about time I visited an old friend.” Letting out a giggle, his flicked his fingers back, signaling Jefferson to follow, “Bring your hat, we’ll need it.” Turning away from the Hatter once more, the Dark One raised a hand, dark crimson-red smoke appeared around him, and once it was died down, a large red cloak covered the Dark One’s body, an intricate buckle keeping the two sides connected between his clavicles, closed so nobody could see the shirt or pants underneath: the boots below his ankles exposed to the world, and dark red gloves covering his hands. 

“How the hell does he do that?” Jefferson shook his head in confusion, then began to follow after the Dark One, to the other end of the extravagant room, “Too bad that smoke was too thick, might have ended up like that one time.” He grinned slightly, his eyes tracing to the back end of the impish man. 

“What did I tell you about talking about that, dearie?!” The Dark One snapped, glaring over his shoulder at the hatter, “Right right,” Jefferson’s eyes quickly shot back up to the face of the other, taking off his hat and bowed, “My apologies Dark One. Shall we move?” After rolling his eyes the impish man nodded, opening up the front doors of the castle, “Enjoy your color dearie, only your hat will have it.” Stepping out into the cool air, the small shrubs brushing in the wind. 

“Oh for the love of the gods,” Jefferson sighed like a child throwing a tantrum, “Not that place.”


	2. Drained Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After spells of sleep Gold wakes up to his darling Belle. The two decide to go out for breakfast, and Gold sees something, or someone, he never thought he would see again...

Her blue eyes never left the rising and falling chest of the man she loved. Soft hands rested on her lap, lost in the sea of blue that tinted the dress she wore. The lace fell from the bottom of the knee high dress, touching the tip of her upper legs at the edge of her knee, letting bits of light gently touch her ivory skin underneath. Auburn locks of curled hair bounced against her chest as the beauty sat down in a plain cushioned chair, beside the bed of her lover. A clock right outside the room had read 10:15AM, a few hours later than when her husband would have woken up to get ready and head to his shop. Today, he lay in the bed, his eyes closed and what seemed to be sleeping--only this sleep was much longer than the norm. 

It had been days since he had awoken from the sleep, unfortunately not an uncommon occurrence for the poor man. It was one of the spells he had, after having such a change occur. She was grateful to have her husband alive, she didn’t want people to get her wrong about that, but he had moments like this where he would spend days, seemingly sleeping through every night and day, until he jerked awake with fear and pain in his eyes. 

The Beauty beyond anything loved him, but it was painful to experience this nearly every month. Each month he would spend almost a week in a coma like state, his body frozen in time except for the breaths he would breathe, lying peacefully under the covers. It worried her, even a kiss of true love could not awaken him, only time would cause him to wake. 

It was common knowledge that true love was the most powerful magic of all; true love was able to breach through the barriers of realms and time, able to break any curse. With the kiss having no effect, Belle could tell this wasn’t a curse, or perhaps it was the remnants of a curse. No matter the amount of kisses or shaking to wake him up, Rumpelstiltskin wouldn’t rise. 

This was exactly how it was today: his breath was normal, his hands folded gently over each other, resting upon his chest. His face was calm, rid of any negative emotion, or positive. The defined lines upon his face, bringing to the front the once immortal man’s age, began to curve as his lips formed a discomforted frown, until he jerked awake, his eyes glittering with the same fear as the other times he had awoken from the statis-like state. 

“Rumple!” The Beauty squeaked out, slightly startled by the sudden movement of her husband, “You’re awake!” Throwing herself forward off the chair she wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging onto him tightly. Belle’s eyes threatened to let tears stream down her face, of joy and relief of no longer having to worry if he would ever wake up, the same struggle she had every time he was in the sleep--it was never certain if he would actually wake up each time he went into a stasis sleep. 

As he was comforted in her warm embrace the fear began to die out in his eyes, like a flame blowing out in the wind, “So I am.” He smiled weakly, resting his hands on her hips, “I’m so sorry Belle, putting you through this.” 

These were the words he would always say every time he would wake up from the coma-like sleeps. Every word, every time, his voice would reflect the fear that would die out from his eyes, and the sadness he felt for putting his darling Belle through this. The sorrow they both felt for each other was thick in the room every time he would wake up from the sleep, “We really need to figure out what’s wrong with you, Rumple,” Belle’s lush pink lips curved into a frown, resting her head on his shoulder, “It pains me to see you like this. There has to be something that can help you.” 

Both the Beauty and the former ‘Beast’ had their hunches why these events would happen, but neither would speak of it. The Beauty was nervous about the result, why the Beast would fear losing his wife again, knowing exactly what was causing the comas. He could feel it, knew it, that the cause and cure for the stasis would drive his wife away similar to the many times before when he dabbled in the darkness once again. He couldn’t lose her, not now. Within his hollow feeling body, she was the only light that filled his empty void, giving him life now that his power was gone. Though, deep inside his once coal black heart, he could feel the emptiness, not just from the fear of losing his Belle, but the fear that he was actually missing the power. 

His heart was pure, or so he had been told by his Belle after waking up the first time after the Apprentice extracted the Dark One from him, but it still felt empty. Mr. Gold could feel it, the emptiness echoing through his body, a gaping hole left over after losing the Dark One. His whole body ached and groaned, weakened and begging to taste the power he had once again, to dabble deeper into the power and learn more about it. After having the power for more than ten times the time he didn’t, it left him feeling empty, weak, and the creeping feeling of cowardice falling back upon him. 

Being the Dark One may have given him power beyond his wildest dreams, gave him the mask to hide his cowardice behind, but he couldn’t hide behind it anymore, he couldn’t stop anybody from hurting the ones he loved. He was powerless once again, an ordinary man. ‘Regina would have gotten a kick or two out of this before the curse’ Gold cursed to himself, ‘Now she would just laugh at me, like the rest of them.’ 

The looks they had given him, before and after the Dark Curse, were just the same: pity and hate. ‘How could such a powerful man end up like that?’ he could recall the little wolf girl Ruby whisper to her grandmother. Of course others would use the more colorful word of ‘beast,’ but coming from the wolf girl, she didn’t see many people as beasts unless they really gave a reason. The others would happily give him that title. 

All of them, always sneering and glaring at him, but why blame them? He was known as a ‘scourge of the lands’ courtesy of Charming, but that was when he was the Dark One. Out of it all, he was missing being that way, the charm he had, the confidence, the power. 

Gold had to curse at himself again, always going back to the power. That damn crutch he had to have in order to more than just walk, but to live. 

Focusing back to Belle he gently pushed back, moving so he could gaze right into her brilliant blue eyes, “We’ll find something, don’t worry. We always do.” He attempted to give her a reassuring smile, not only trying to convince her, but as well as trying to convince himself, softly moving one of the auburn locks out of her face. There was a voice, in the deepest reaches of his mind, telling him that there was something, but the voice unnerved him, “I may be able to at least find something within my shop to help, I did collect a lot of things over my time of living,” He paused, gently poking Belle on the nose, “Of course some more precious than others.” A small giggle burst out from the beauty, wrinkling her nose slightly, “Oh Rumple.” 

They both knew what he referred to, their special little trinket. Set up in a glass case inside his pawn shop was a small tea cup, beautiful flowers painted on the ceramic surface, and on the rim, a small chip giving the whole meaning of the small keepsake. It was their love, their symbol of their will to keep fighting for each other, to never let go. ‘It’s just a cup’ Rumpelstiltskin had once said, the day the Beauty had come to work for him as a maid to his rather large estate. It was more than that, much more. ‘Sometimes, the best cups are chipped.’ The smiling face of Belle on their wedding day as she made her vows stuck in his mind, an image never to be removed. No matter the difficult times, the troubles they faced, their love was worth fighting for, and neither of them would ever stop fighting. 

It had been a rough path, keeping their love going, but the beauty knew it was worth fighting for, creating the small dim light in the sea of darkness in the once immortal man, and growing it into what it was at the present day. No matter how many times he had dabbled into the darkness, Belle was there to pull him out of the abyss and welcome him with open arms and a loving heart. 

“Perhaps,” The beauty began, pursing her lips in thought, “There may be something inside that vault you kept in the castle.” Alert flicked into his brown eyes as she mentioned a vault, “Which one are you referring to?” Once before Belle had mentioned the vault he kept back in the Dark Castle, deep in the ‘darker’ reaches of its depths, where he had kept things even the Dark One couldn’t understand: only mentioning it since she hated having the dagger back when it had control over him, “Please Belle,” A frown tugged at his lips, gently resting a hand upon her soft smooth cheek, “You know how I feel about talking about that vault. There are things I didn’t understand when I was the Dark One and things I couldn’t control. Now that I am not what I was once,” Gold paused, inhaling sharply then letting out a slow heavy sigh, “It’s not a good idea.” He finished his thought quickly, dismissing the idea of even trying to get to the vault within the bowels of the Dark Castle back in the Enchanted Forest. Her blue eyes dimmed with disappointment, letting out a sigh herself, “Fine,” She finally huffed out after a few breaths of silence, “But I’ll think of something.” 

“I expect that from you,” He laughed softly, planting a kiss upon her forehead, past the curls of auburn hair in an attempt to raise her spirits again, “Come on,” cautiously he hoisted himself to his feet, gripping the footboard of the bed to keep his balance, “Let’s get some breakfast made.” Placing another hand upon the expertly crafted wooden side of the footboard he reached the previously placed hand out to grab the golden handle of the cane he used in assistance to walk when his old injury back from the Ogre Wars became apparent and present enough to cause extreme pain when putting tiny amounts of pressure on it, the permanent limp showing its ugly face, let alone actually walking without the cane. 

Shifting his weight onto the cane he hummed a bit, taking the other hand off the bed, resting it on the shoulder of the beauty for a few moments before limping towards the door. From behind him a small ‘peep’ was made from Belle as she swiftly stood up nearly knocking over the chair she previously sat upon, going to his side just after leaving the confined space of the room, “How about,” She turned around a few paces in front of her husband, “We go out for breakfast this morning? Give both of us a break.” 

“Belle…” Gold curled his lips in a frown, “I’d much rather stay home.” His brown eyes were still laced with exhaustion and a slight hint of the fear they were once painted with as he had first awoken just a few minutes ago, “There should be some fresh eggs in the fridge as well as…” The words trailed off as Gold stared into Belle’s brilliant blue eyes, drooping with sorrow. The auburn beauty desperately wanted to get out of the house, and anyone could see it by the pale lack of color sweeping over her once vibrant ivory and rosy cheeks. 

“Rumpel,” She cleared her throat, her voice low with worry and disappointment, dragging her gaze from the ground to the brown eyes staring into her own, cupping her hands around the free hand of the other, “You just woke up and I don’t want you struggling around to make breakfast.” Her hands gently squeezed the one encased in her own, her voice growing into a confident tone, the beautifully shaped eyes slightly narrowing in a stern stare, “We’re going out to Granny’s whether you agree or not.” 

And then there it was a quick transformation from the stare to the cute little pout the beauty would always get when she was trying to convince Gold to do something he wasn’t too keen on: her lips slightly pursed in a pouting fashion, the lower lip gently reaching over her upper lip, her eyes marginally lidded and glancing gently up towards the barely taller man, a miniscule glimmer in her eyes like a puppy begging for a small scrap of food. Her auburn locks framed her face just enough to amplify the blue glittering in her irises, gently touching the ivory cheeks and falling over her perfectly shaped shoulders hidden underneath the blue hued fabric of her dress. 

“Oh fine,” Mr. Gold finally forced out, rolling his eyes and frowning ever so slightly, “You know I can’t resist that look,” A bright smile beamed from Belle her eyes lighting up even more, popping wide open in excitement, causing the man to return a nearly as bright smile back, “But before we go I need to stop by my shop to make sure everything is alright.” 

“Yes!” Belle beamed brightly, grinning a toothy smile closing her eyes from the sheer might her smile exerted upon her facial muscles, “I’ll give you a bit to take a shower and get dressed why I’ll get some money so we can pay,” The beauty counted the things needing to be done on her fingers as she said them, taking a step back in anticipation, “I will meet you,” She focused again in on the man in front of her, “Downstairs.” Without another peep or chirp the beauty bounded down the stairs, giggling as she hit the final step, running into the kitchen for her wallet. 

A soft chuckle came from Gold as he shook his head, turning towards the small bathroom a few paces away from where he currently stood, “Oh my darling Belle.” 

It was an adjustment, rebuilding to what they once had: husband and wife, together until death, the undying love and affection they once had was now a dimmed flame, still flickering but struggling against being blotched out by the abyss of darkness. All the mistakes he had made in the past few years created a chasm between the two of them, nearly destroying their marriage not even a year into their joining in holy matrimony. Now, both Bell and Gold were struggling to rekindle their broken love, each one adjusting to the changes that had unfolded after the Dark One was extracted. 

Stepping into the bathroom, Gold gently closed the door behind him, looking into the rounded mirror perched above the vanity. The room was the normal size for a master bath, the walls a dim red, accented with golden rods and white granite vanity top. The wooden cabinets below the sink were stained a slight red-brown tint, intricate golden handles curving out on the inner edges of each cabinet door, three drawers positioned on each side of the doors, decorated with a similar curved knob. Not too far left from the vanity was the light near white porcelain toilet, and opposite of it was the larger than normal bathtub, fitted into the back wall of the room, its slightly beige body formed perfectly around the tiled walls surrounding it. Sitting next to the tub was the towel rod, two mahogany colored towels hanging upon the golden surface. Upon the ceiling was the light source, a small rounded light positioned in the middle of the room, bright enough to illuminate the space, a second light a few inches away from the bathtub and another perched on the wall above the rounded mirror. 

His brown eyes reflected the exhaustion he was experiencing despite being asleep for nearly two weeks, staring back into themselves as he looked through the glass. Leaning in closer to the mirror a slight glint caught his attention, a golden flicker upon his skin, appearing as a brief flicker of sunlight streaming through an endless stormy night, bringing a twinge of fear into his mind, flinching away at the thought of it, “It can’t be real,” He reassured himself predicting it came from light hitting one of the glinting golden rods, turning away and slipping off the fitted top to his pajamas, up and over his head, tossing it onto the floor by his feet near careless. Soon followed the clothing covering the lower half of his body, thrown onto the floor next to the top. 

Turning the faucet, warm water began to flow out of the spout and into the base of the tub, steam rising from the flowing clear liquid. With a few more adjustments, adding in some cold water, reducing the cold slightly then increasing the warm water again, the temperature settled into a comfortable medium, the final turn and the shower-head came to life, the perfectly warm liquid flowing from above, falling onto the porcelain basin below. 

Pulling back the curtain, the man cautiously stepped over the side of the tub rim, holding onto a tall rack set next to the tub mostly for the purpose of keeping the limping man from falling over when attempting to get in. One leg and then the other, the shower curtain was pulled back over the full length of the tub, encasing the man within the small confined area. 

The moment the warm water touched his skin a feeling of relief washed over his body, all the aching and pain falling away like the drops of water dripping off his skin. It was calming, soothing just to feel the warm droplets touch gently against his skin, washing away the dirt and grime along with the worry and aching that lingered inside him after waking up. A simple moment of feeling the warmth against his body was a wonderful and welcomed sensation. 

After some time spent worshipping the warmth and sensations, Gold snapped back into the moment, remembering that the auburn beauty was waiting for him to get ready. Quickly finishing up his shower he pulled himself out of the tub, wrapping one of the mahogany toned towels around his body, swiping up the discarded pajamas as well as his cane. Slipping through the bathroom door, Gold hurried to the bedroom, throwing the used clothing into the laundry basket situated next to the door. Turning his attention to the closet he swung open the door, glancing at the array of suits and dress shirts. Not giving it a lot of thought, he picked out a midnight blue shirt along with a black suit with thin gray pinstripes running along the length of the fabric, a black and blue designed tie to go along with the ensemble. 

In two flicks of a tail the towel was discarded and the suit was adjusted on, Gold finishing up tightening his tie when a gentle knock reverberated through the air, “Rumple, ready to go?” The soft voice broke through the silence, causing the man to turn around, “All set and ready.” He forced a smile out, still disliking the idea of going out to Granny’s a place he had commonly gotten into what some would call a tiff with the owner of the small diner, Granny, which usually ended with tension floating thick in the air through their whole dining experience. 

“I like that color,” Belle smiled as Mr. Gold approached the doorway where she had positioned herself, “Looks nice on you.” The beauty smiled as he approached her, the blue dress she had on before straightened out and covered with a thin white shawl. 

“Let’s get this over with,” Gold sighed in an attempt to swallow down his disgust, smiling it away in a silent ‘thank you’ for the comment from the other, “I look good in blue, don’t know why I wore it more.” He chuckled proudly gripping the lappel of his suit jacket, which produced a giggle from Belle, “Alright, alright don’t let it get too far into your head. We still have breakfast to get to,” She reached forward, cupping her hand around his hand, pulling him away from the closet, “Granny’s should be just opening so there won’t be too many people right now.” 

“Words I like to hear,” Gold hummed in a pleased manner, pulling the hand intertwined with his own up to his lips, gently kissing the back of her hand. Smiling the two carefully stepped down each stair step, the cane clicking against the wooden steps. Once on the final step they approached the door Gold taking a moment to separate their fingers, wrapping them around the knob of the front door, and in one swift movement opened the door wide, exposing the inner walls of the home with the light of the outside, “Ladies first,” he bowed half of his body extending out his arm in a manner to invite her out. 

“Why thank you,” Belle smiled her cheeks red with a blush as she curtseyed, then stepped past the threshold. Mr. Gold followed close behind, turning back towards the house, keys out. 

As his fingers touched the knob on the outside face of the door, a flicker of movement inside caught his attention. Alert burst through his eyes as he worked on focusing in on the source of the movement. Situated at the top of the stairs stood somebody who towered at his same height, his face half covered by the gray-brown curled locks of hair, framing his face enough blocking out the dim light behind to create shadows over his features. Amber irises nearly glowed underneath the shadows of his face, glaring right through Gold’s soul, a sinister smirk on his golden tinted lips. The being’s head raised up from the position where its chin was pressed close to the chest, eyes lifting to a steady gaze. Upon a closer look a deep thick red liquid dripped from the eyes, blackness overtaking the white in the depths. 

Slowly its head tilted to the side, brown curls clinging to the sticky red liquid as they fell over to the side. A low growl laced with a gurgle seeped from its throat, the jaw slipping open and exposing the sharp rotting teeth. Gripped between the clawed fingers was a small sapphire orb, the few spots of its surface peeking out into the light glimmered against the cold skin. The being lifted its hand, pressing its thumb and index finger into the surface of the sapphire orb, letting the light reflect against its surface and touch the corners of the staircase, the lips moving casually as it mouthed, ‘Time to play, Rumplestiltskin.’ 

“Rumple?” Belle’s voice broke through the moment, her hand tenderly touching against his shoulder, “Is everything okay?” 

The brown eyes broke gaze with the being, focusing over on Belle, “Ah, ha…” Gold trailed off, glancing back towards the staircase, still seeing the being positioned at the top, the sapphire orb still reflecting the light, “Yes, I’m fine.” Inhaling sharply he pulled the knob towards him, watching at the being rolled the orb between his fingers before vanishing behind the door. 

“Something catch your attention?” Belle spoke up again gently craning her neck to look past Gold towards where he was watching before the door closed, the curled auburn strands falling over her face. “It was nothing,” He cleared his mind, taking out a small silver key from the ring, shoving it into the lock, “Just remembered something I need to get from the shop before we get to breakfast.” With a turn of the key, a click was heard signifying the lock was armed, “How about this.” He stuffed the keys back into the pocket of his pants, turning to face the beauty, “I’ll drive you to Granny’s, you get us a table and I’ll be there once I get the thing from the shop. I won’t be too long,” he added on the last part in response to the look Belle had given him, “I know exactly where I left it. I’ll be in and out.” 

After a sigh of acknowledgement from the beauty the two went down the walkway onto the driveway where the dark blue-black sedan waited. A click echoed in the air as the locks became undone, the doors opening smoothly as both bodies sat into the chairs. The engine sprung to life in a smooth burst, revving up as the vehicle became in motion, leaving the concrete paved driveway onto the asphalt. 

“I’ll be back in two shakes of a tail,” Gold smiled up as Belle stepped out of the sedan, a smile returned and a wave, “You’d better be.” Her tone was seemingly serious but laced with concern and affection, “Don’t keep me waiting.” Without another word the beauty bounded up the walkway and into the small diner, the bell chiming as she pushed the door open. 

As her form disappeared behind the glass, Gold started moving again, parking the car not too far away from the diner, around the back corner. In quick movements, he hoisted himself out of the sedan, cane in hand, and hobbled to the main entrance of the pawn shop. Above his head gently swung the sign reading “Mr. Gold Pawnbroker & Antiquities Dealer,” the only light shining from the darkened building. Compared to most of the other buildings around, the Pawn Shop had a darker aura to it, seemingly to cause people to cross the road before reaching it, something Gold didn’t mind too much: nothing really sold before the Dark Curse was lifted, and only magic really sold after that, though money wasn’t much of a use for him, it was a nice thing to have. Money was the power within the realm. 

Unlocking the door was quick and easy, Mr. Gold slipping in and closing the door behind him, ‘Get it and get out.’ He thought to himself, ‘Don’t keep Belle waiting and get this feeling out.’ 

Since seeing the strange being inside his home, there had been a sicky, creeping feeling flowing through his mind and body, something telling him he had to get that orb, to make sure it was still there. It wasn’t more of the fact the orb might be gone, but what he saw had the orb. He was seeing it again: himself, but influenced by the darkness. He was seeing the Dark One, the haunting images of the dark being he once was. 

Stepping past the leaf-patterned dimming gold curtain, Gold entered the back room of the small shop, his office and where he stored the more, magical objects. Towards the back corner, opposite of the back entrance was a large desk covered with various papers and files, many drawers decorating the legs. Opening up the bottom left drawer, he pulled out a small red-purple velvet pouch, only slightly bigger than a pocket watch. 

Between the velvet fabric, hidden inside, he could feel three spherical shapes, small and smooth, barely bigger than a dime. ‘Good,’ Gold visibly relaxed, ‘All of them are here.’ 

“Just one missing from the set,” A voice flowed through the stale air, “Blue, red and gray.” The voice danced with amusement as every word came out, “Just missing the green one. You were so close before. We were so close before.” 

“I’m not interested in that anymore.” Gold sneered, turning towards the direction of the voice. There he was again, the being taking on his form, the golden skin blending in with the dark orange shirt and red vest, “Not interested?” The lips curled into a bright amused grin, a stream of giggles escaping it, “Oh I wouldn’t say you’re ‘not interested’ dearie. If you weren’t,” it paused, taking quick striding steps towards the man, placing the clawed fingers on the velvet pouch, “You would not care about these.” A single flawed finger curled around the looped string holding the pouch closed, “Go ahead,” it leaned in, close to his face, “Indulge yourself. Give in.” 

“I won’t.” He growled, brown eyes narrowing towards the amber ones, only inches away from each other, “I can’t.” 

“Can’t,” the imp mused, “Or won’t?” Its voice flowed again, running a finger over the soft fabric of the pouch, touching the small orbs inside, “I know exactly what you crave dearie. You miss my power, you want it,” a broken giggle escaped from the being, tittering, “Actually, no. You need it.” 

Gold opened his mouth to object, but his voice failed him, his words falling short. Despite all his objections in his mind, he knew the being was right. He was no wanting the power again, he needed it. 

“So, dearie,” the being grinned, trailing the finger away from the pouch, “You find the last orb, and we will have the power again, and you will never have to be a coward again.” 

“I...:” He stumbled with his words, feeling the awful familiar fear rising inside him, “I don’t want that darkness again.” He felt the fear rising through his body, gripping against his mind, “But you miss it,” the being finished his thoughts, “You cannot have one without the other. You’ll have to choose.” 

Silence filled the small back room, Gold’s mind processing the situation he had to work with. He could regain the power of the Dark One again and work on controlling the darkness better than before, and still keep Belle. But, on the other hand, could he control the darkness? He had tried before the first moments he had gotten the power, but the struggle was too much, eventually giving into the darkness. Could he risk it again. 

“Tick tock dearie,” the voice hummed, “tick tock. What is your decision?” The silence settled in again, moments feeling like years passing before Gold’s voice broke the silence, “Where is the other orb?” 

“Neyah!” the being nearly jumped from excitement, clapping the clawed fingers together, “Excellent! The last orb,” it tilted its head side to side, closing in the space between the two, bringing up a hand to cover one side of their faces in a fashion of hiding his words, lowering his voice, “is right in this town.” 

“Here?” The brown eyes widened, “That’s impossible. The orb was in,” He broke off his thought, noticing the glimmer of amusement in the amber eyes, “was in the Enchanted Forest,” it tittered, touching the aged cheek of the one it took the form of, “But it’s here,” the index finger of its free hand pointed down to the ground below, “Within this little town. It won’t be easy though, dearie.” 

“Why not?” Irritation started to boil inside of his blood, getting tired of the riddles and vague hints of the darkness, perhaps the reason why most people never got along with him, “What is going to be so hard about it?” The mischievous glint in the amber eyes unnerved him, but he kept intent on what was going on, “Because,” the amber eyes rolled in response, “It’s on a certain necklace owned by a certain little, oh how shall I say it,” it hummed with amusement, “Princess.”


End file.
